


Sunspots

by ViciousFlame



Series: Sunshine-verse [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: And that problem is that no one stays dead, Asriel and Chara are alive, Don't worry they got better, F/F, F/M, Fluff, I have a problem apparently, It's got the sads now though, Lots of people die but they get better, On the other hand that's not a problem because I hated stories where people died, Other, Referenced Reader Death, Referenced Sans Death, Series of One Shots, Silly, So reactionary writing I guess, Tags to be added, They got better too, What I'm trying to say is, chosen families, referenced brain washing, sads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-08-07 20:02:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7727983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViciousFlame/pseuds/ViciousFlame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One shots and AUs from the Sunshine-verse</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> I finally cleaned up the one shot sort-of-epilogue I had laying in my documents folder, and now I present it to you.  
> I can't say how often this will update, or even what updates will consist of, but there will definitely be more

“Get out, and don’t come back until you figure out how to be a decent human being!” David’s furious voice caught your attention, and the sound of the library doors shutting hard, but you were focused on Chara’s face.

 **Mom will never allow you to build a giant wooden horse, and that is not an effective negotiation tool.** You told them with a shake of your head.

“It worked on the city of Troy!” Chara protested.

**It worked because they got everyone incredibly drunk first, and because they wanted to conquer them, not negotiate housing laws.**

Chara pouted and leaned back, “I don’t know how else to help Frisk,” They admitted, “I’m not allowed to go to negotiations anymore…”

 **That does tend to happen when you suggest stabbing a man and seeing if his replacement is more cooperative. It happens doubly so when what appears to be a ten year old is suggesting this.** You pointed out.

“I made suggestions like that to Frisk all the time and it wasn’t a big deal.” Chara huffed.

 **It wasn’t a big deal because only Frisk could hear you before,** You leaned forward and ruffled their hair, **Frisk knew you were joking, Azzy knew you were joking, and Mom knew you were joking, but the gentleman was quite worried.**

“He was no gentleman, and his replacement _was_ a lot more cooperative. Frisk said that he doesn’t even know why his predecessor retired from stress.” Chara grumbled.

 **Keep studying existing laws and pointing things out that could be hurtful to monsters, that does a lot more to help Frisk and everyone at the embassy than building a giant wooden horse would.** You signed with a smile.

“Fine,” Chara sighed dramatically, then eyed you, “Are you still coming for dinner tonight?”

You raised an eyebrow at them.

“Good. Mom invited Gaster, and Undyne, and Alphys, and Papyrus, too, so all we were missing were you and the smiley-err, You and Sans.”

You tweaked Chara’s nose. In the year since you’d brought two of your younger siblings back from what was essentially death, they’d both been very good about not calling Sans ‘Smiley Trashbag’ anymore.

To his face.

Well, Azzy was good at it, Chara tried, but you were pretty sure they just liked antagonizing your husband into a pun battle.

 **We’ll be there Chara, you should head home before mom starts to worry.** You shooed them gently. Chara hopped up and gave you a quick hug before darting out the library door.

You watched them go, making sure that they came to no harm until they were out of sight, before turning back to your desk.

Monster racism had definitely slowed since Purity for Above had been apprehended and sentenced to time behind bars, but it was still present and your human siblings fought harder than anyone to wipe it out.

You tried, you pushed and fought, and researched as often as you could but…

Well, you weren’t human anymore. No one but your immediate family knew that, but there was an undercurrent of worry in each of your family members.

Would would a monster racist do if confronted with a monster who had once been human?

What would the human government do?

So, you did was any good healer did and provided support. Sometimes the home you shared with Sans and Papyrus seemed more like a hospital with how many injured monsters and humans gathered, waiting for you to get home, but no one had died on your watch in over a year.

The last monster to die to an extremist had been Sans, and the last human to die related in any way to a monster hate crime had been…

Well, had been someone that you had dropped into the Void. Technically, you supposed, it could be Ryan, but he was not actually dead.

Regardless, you enjoyed healing, and it eased the tension in your family when you healed as opposed to fighting on the front lines.

“Hey, uh, _____?” You glanced up at David. Lost in your thoughts you had begun some extensive book repair on a hardback that had come in completely trashed earlier today.

And speaking of repair…

“Wh-what happened to y-your eye?” You glanced at the clock, “David, y-you definitely d-didn’t have what l-looks like a b-black eye twenty minutes ago.”

“You were a little busy with your sibling, that was Chara right?” You nodded, but raised an eyebrow at him and he blushed slightly, “Uh, there was this guy talking about how… Well, he had some opinions on who should and should not be allowed in a library when he noticed that some of the monster kids were involved in storytime.”

You looked over to see that Emma had taken over storytime for three human children, a little blue bunny monster, a cat monster, and a pair of spider monsters.

“P-please tell m-me you didn’t get in a fight in f-front of the kids.” You sighed.

“I had Emma take over and had a conversation with the guy away from delicate ears, no matter how good their hearing may be.” This last comment was much lighter and directed towards the Storytime corner. The cat child looked over and grinned at the two of you.

You shook your head and stood, reaching out and pulled on your magic, tracing violet fire around David’s eye.

“Thanks _____,” David sighed in relief, “I wouldn’t ask, except some of the monster parents might not be too eager to leave their kids here if the Head Librarian looked like a street fighter.”

“They’d b-be p-proud when they found out how you g-got it.” You assured him.

“Still not a reassuring image for them,” David smiled and looked over to corner again. You looked over in time to see a little girl cuddle into the bunny, and a little boy shyly scoot towards the spider twins. “That’s how it’ll start, getting this fixed for real.” David said firmly, “The kids, and if Storytime at your local Ebott Library can encourage this…”

“I know.” You nodded, watching the children with a soft smile.

“But, uhm, speaking of kids,” David wiggled an eyebrow at you, “You and Sans thinking about making some sort of human-skeleton hybrid anytime soon?”

“T-technically any children S-sans and I had w-would either take after h-him, or after m-me. M-monster genetics work d-differently.” You told him, avoiding the question.

“Is this an inappropriate talk as your boss? Would you prefer if I wait until Sunday when I’m your friend?” David teased.

Very much like Friday nights were the sacred and untouchable Anime Night, Sunday lunch had become a thing where everyone involved in trying to find you when you’d been kidnapped a year ago joined back up to have a potluck meal and help Alphys set up the world's most complicated camera system.

“W-we’ve talked about it,” You sighed and gestured to the book you were trying to repair, “And the l-library closes in an h-hour and a half, I n-need to get this d-done before then.”

David reached over and gave you a half hug, “Alright, thanks again for the heal. I’ll be entertaining small children if you need me.”

You nodded at him, and watched as he went over and rescued Emma from being the Storytime reader, a job she didn’t particularly enjoy, but could do with a front of enthusiasm and joy if called on.

You turned your attention back to the book, focusing on it.

The spine was broken, several pages were loose, and the cover was cracked and ripped in several spots.

It was slow going putting it back together, using your seemingly unending resources of glue, thread, and tape to restore. Maybe it would have been simpler to throw it away and put in an order for a new copy, but you knew the value of broken things better than anyone else.

It was the value of Chara, who sometimes still thought of themself as worthless because they couldn't break the barrier, who woke up screaming some nights, convinced they had forced Frisk to murder everyone.

It was the value of Azzy, who sometimes pulled his siblings out of bed and dragged them across the yard to your house, to curl up with everyone who remembered previous timelines, convinced that he was going to turn back into Flowey, was going to stop caring, and was going to Reset everything.

It was the value of Sans, who couldn’t let go of your hands sometimes because he still felt a hole opening under him, dumping him in a meadow as he seemingly lost you for a third time, who had nightmares of a black material engulfing him and cutting him off from the energy that made him, him.

It was the value of You. A child raised by a skeleton no one else could see or hear. You woke up sometimes, still and silent in the night, afraid to reach for Sans in case it had all been a terrible, wonderful dream and he was still gone, ripped away from you by the brother who had promised to protect you, the same brother who had murdered both your parents for the audacity of ignoring you when he himself ordered and carried out the worst kind of torture you could imagine as he showed you images of your murdered friends turned family.

You gently smoothed the dust jacket down and fixed it in place with tape. Yes, you knew the value of broken things, and what’s more you knew how wonderful they could be if given the proper time and care.

“hey babe.”

You were up and around the desk without a second though, in Sans’s arms before anyone else would have realized you’d moved.

“miss me?”

“Always.” You squeezed him tight, “How w-was work?”

“good, not as good as seeing your face though.” Sans grinned and kissed you.

“Quit being gross adults, there are children around,” Emma teased. You shot a grin at the woman who had been too traumatized by a pun spree to look you in the eyes a year ago.

No, you acknowledge to yourself as David made loud growly noises at children in the corner and Emma stole the book you had repaired and wandered off to return it to it’s rightful spot, everything might not be perfect; but you had friends, you had family, and you had Sans.

And that was pretty perfect to you.


	2. What might have been

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In another world, Ryan decided keeping you away from monsters was more important than building up Purity for Above.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found so much time to write that I'm now two chapters ahead in Absinthe and Ecstasy and wrote a new Sunspot.  
> Uhh  
> Sort of Sunspot? I mean it's going here, but it's less a oneshot from the main story, and more a self indulgent 'What if' that popped into my head.  
> SO you know, if you want to know how your friends in the Sunshineverse are doing, this story isn't an update.  
> BUT if you want a sadder, shorter, version of Sunshine, here's this update!

“Hello Jon,” You called a quick greeting to your friend as he poked his head into the library doors and caught your attention.

“Good morning _____,” He grinned, “How are you doing this morning?”

“Much better, Dr. K says my new medication is working wonderfully.” You beamed at him. In truth, you hadn’t quite known how to react when Ryan had reappeared in your life with Jonathon in tow. You had been even more conflicted as Ryan gently introduced you to Purity for Above, the organization he and your parents were running in an effort to get monsters put back under the ground.

That was before you knew how terrible monsters were.

Ryan had told you how monsters had infiltrated your life, making you trust them and love them, before disguising themselves as humans and torturing you, so you’d turn against your real family and fight for them. He told you how you bravely refused, and insisted that nothing could make you turn against your real family. He’d told you how he had managed to find you, only to watch you die before his eyes, and how he’d taken your shuddering soul and begged The Void to turn back time and give him another chance.

You hadn’t believed him at first, but then you’d begun to remember bits and pieces of the previous timeline.

Ryan told you that Gaster had been preparing you your entire life to be a sacrifice to monsters. He told you how you have sworn to not use your magic to aid monsters, and he had left you in disgust.

You remembered Gaster abandoning you in a different time, and that’s when you had begun to believe.

For the first time in your life you did what your parents wanted, you turned away from Gaster and you started working with Dr. K in earnest to get better.

You didn’t see Gaster anymore, whether it was because the medications Dr. K prescribed were working, or because he had seen you would never turn your back on humanity, you couldn't be sure.

“What b-brings you you to my library on this lovely day?” You tried not to let the flicker of annoyance show on your face when your voice caught.

Jon looked around your library with a small smile.

One of the first things your parents had done when Ryan brought you home after telling you the truth, was to build you a library nearer to home. Your little house in Ebott City had been abandoned in favor of staying closer to the mother and father who were so proud of you and your abilities with The Void, and the brother who was so patient in teaching you. Your library was the best in the city and you took great pride in maintaining it.

(Even when it got quiet at night and a small part of your treacherous heart missed the company of the monsters who had so completely fooled you in another life.)

Jon sighed, “We, uh, we caught one of the monsters who killed you in the last timeline.”

Your breath caught and you glanced over your shoulder to make sure none of the patrons or other librarians were close enough to hear, “Which one?”

“The skeleton, the little one. Ryan was going to have him executed but-”

“No!” Your own vehemence caught you, and you grimaced at yourself, silently promising to call Dr. K and extend your appointment for Thursday if you could, it was proving difficult to work through the brainwashing from the monsters, “No, I mean… He might have some answers on how Ryan turned back time to save me. If we could figure out how to harness that, it would be invaluable to P-Purity for Above.”

Jon reached out and ruffled your hair, “Ryan thought the same thing, and you know he tries to keep you out of our stuff but he was hoping you would be amenable to helping us to interrogate him.”

You frowned slightly, “Interrogate?”

“Nothing bad, or scary,” Jon promised, “Ryan just thought it might put him off tilt if you were the one asking the questions.”

“Oh,” You considered, “Of course, I’ll be glad to help.”

~

“One more time, Ryan? J-just to make sure I have it?” You asked your big brother hopefully.

Ryan beamed at you, “Of course. You have your list of questions?” You wiggled the clipboard you’d been holding, “You’ll simply keep repeating the questions until he answers them. If he doesn’t answer them, or if he just keeps trying to convince you to betray us, we’ll pull you out and try something else.”

“Okay. Okay, I can do th-this.”

Ryan ruffled your hair, “Great, and don’t feel bad if you have to switch to sign language, you’ve been doing great with regulating the Void, but don’t stress yourself out trying to talk.”

You frowned at the clipboard, “I hate it,” You grumbled, “I h-hate that he used my v-vulnerability…”

“You’re not his, though, you didn’t fall for their tricks this timeline.” Ryan reassured you, pulling you into a hug, “The sign language is yours, the magic is yours, the Void is yours… and to think, monsters would have had you storing cookies and pies in the Void, like a pet, or doing their dirty work for them. You’ve truly come into yourself, and become the person you were always meant to be.”

You leaned your head against his shoulder, and for a moment you were swamped by vertigo as you remembered leaning your head against a different shoulder, reassured about sign language by someone else… someone taller, louder, with red hair, and-

“_____, they’re ready for you.” One of Jon’s men poked his head out of the room.

“Knock ‘em _dead_ ,” Ryan winked at you.

“I’ll get you answers, no _bones_ about it,” You promised, forcing the vertigo away. You squared your shoulders and walked into the room where they were holding one of the monsters who had betrayed you the most.

“no.” His voice was low, almost a growl, and it sent a spark of _something_ racing up and down your spin, “this is the sickest joke they’ve played yet.”

You let yourself inspect the skeleton for a moment. He didn’t look like a human skeleton, which had probably aided him in luring you to his side in the last timeline. His hands were thicker than a human skeleton,

_And your fingers fit perfectly in the gaps between his, like your hands had been made to fit together_

more whole, and there were no gaps in his cheeks, or under his jaw. He even had a strange bone approximation of lips.

_And kissing him felt like laughing, the same warm giddiness swelling from your chest._

You looked down at your clipboard, “What is your name?”

“they finally got you to just talk, huh? how much of the real you did they suppress to do that?”

“What is your name?”

“did they tell you why they sent you specifically in here? are you working with them, or did they just pull you off the street?” He sounded vaguely pleading.

You bit your lip hard, but couldn’t stop yourself from responding to his tone, “I remember the last timeline, monster, I remember how you betrayed me, there’s no point in playing innocent.”

“_____.” A gentle rebuke played from the speaker over the door.

“Sorry Jon,” You sighed, before turning your attention back to the paper on your clipboard, “What is your name?”

“... sans. sans the skeleton.” He sounded odd, and when you looked up from the clipboard to the skeleton in the cell, he _looked_ odd. Broken in a way.

“Do you remember the previous timeline?” You read the next question.

“it’s pretty clear that i do, sweetheart,” Sans said softly.

Your free hand reached up and pressed against your chest, where you’d felt a small pang at the endearment.

“Do not address me so informally.” You said shortly, “Do other monsters remember the last timeline?”

Sans sagged against the wall in the cell and slid to the ground, then regarded you over his knees, “no.”

“Are you the only one who remembers the previous timeline?”

“no.” Sans was watching you, “how did i betray you? was it because i wasn’t strong enough? is that what you were trying to say in the end?”

“Do you know how the time reset was achieved?” You ignored him like you’d been instructed to.

“no.”

A frown tugged at your mouth, “Are you lying to me, or is ‘no’ the only thing you can say?”

“___-”

“Jon, please,” You snapped at the speaker, irritation surging up without warning.

“_____, we told you to stick to the clipboard for your own protection.” Ryan’s voice sounded.

“I know, but I n-n-n…” Your voice got caught, and you struggled, “I n-n-n-need s-s-some im- some improv r-r-room!” You were too loud, the crackle of the speaker was too loud, your breathing was too loud, _your heart was too loud._

You were having a panic attack, you realized with a detached sense of startlement. Your heart had started pounding, your ears were ringing, and you couldn’t breath.

“hey,” Sans said softly, his voice only just bearable, drawing your attention back to himself, “look at me, come on. breathe. in, two, three, four, five, out, two, three, four, five.”

You listened. You weren’t sure why, but listening to Sans eased your breathing, and the pounding faded from your ears.

“_____, we’re pulling you out, come on.” Ryan’s voice was stern.

You and Sans both ignored him. Sans continued counting, and you focused on him and breathing.

You were still focusing on Sans when Jon entered the room and gently lead you out. You could still hear his voice when the door closed and Jon passed you to Ryan.

You could still hear Sans’s voice when Ryan took you home.

You heard his voice, worried and walking you through the panic, when you went to sleep that night.

~

The biggest problem with allowing a person not involved with a vigilante group have access to the facility the vigilante group operated out of, was that sometimes the uninvolved person abused their access.

You stood outside the door to the room containing Sans’s cell, holding the clipboard that had been taken from you by your concerned brother and best friend, at three in the morning.

You steeled yourself and walked in.

Sans wasn’t sleeping.

“i was wondering if they’d let you come back. are you feeling better?”

You weren’t sure how to respond, you hadn’t expected him to care.

“I am, my new medication makes me prone to auditory focused panic attacks.” You weren’t sure why you had admitted that.

“you weren’t on medication before,” Sans sounded worried, but it had been the wrong thing to say, because it reminded you that his concern was fake. The monsters hadn’t cared, they had separated you from your family, tried to turn you on your family, and killed you.

“No,” You agreed coldly, turning back to the paper, “Who, other than you, remembers the previous timeline?”

Sans rested his cheek on a hand, “well, you apparently, but it feels like we’re remembering two separate timelines.”

“I remember everything just fine,” You lied, “Who else?”

~

Sans didn’t tell you anything that night. He just kept… asking about you. Your health, how you were doing, your job…

And he told you stories. About Papyrus, and Frisk, and Undyne, and Toriel, and all the monsters you could almost remember.

Stories that he claimed happened in the other time, and stories from this time, so many stories that you almost forgot the clipboard.

Stories about the monsters that Ryan said had betrayed and killed you.

But the people Sans described… didn’t feel like the people you could almost remember pretending to be Purity for Above.

It confused you. It upset you.

It made you doubt.

You didn’t write the stories on the paper.

~

You sat in your room, the same room you had grown up in as a broken child. If you continued in what you were doing, then you would be betraying who you were…

Or who you had become at least.

But you needed answers, and you weren’t sure who to trust anymore… but you thought you might have a way to figure it out.

You opened the tiniest window into the Void and shakily called out.

“Gaster? Are you there? Can you… can you still hear me?”

You weren’t sure what you wanted more, for him to appear and answer your questions, or for him to stay gone and confirm your belief that Ryan was right.

Gaster faded into existence, watching you with a look of exhaustion on his face.

Unwilling tears sprung to your eyes, but you refused to let them fall.

“Wh-wh-wh-whuh,” You bit your lip and raised your shaky hands, **I don’t know what’s real anymore Gaster. Were you lying to me my whole life? Do you care? Did you ever care?**

 **My little one, I have cared for you since the moment I picked you up in the Void,**  Gaster signed tiredly.

The tears started to trickle down your cheeks, **Ryan lied, didn’t he? It really was Purity for Above that killed me?**

Gaster nodded and you buried your face in your hands sobbing, feeling like you were being torn to pieces.

Ryan meant so, so much to you. He’d been the only human who loved you as a child, and he had come in and rescued you from your loneliness as an adult. He’d held you when you cried, he’d introduced you to Jon, your best friend, and he’d reunited you with your mom and dad.

But it was all a lie. You’d been helping not one, not two, not even three, but countless murderers. How many innocent monsters had died because of the anti-magic material that Ryan carefully pulled from the Void, and you strengthened? How many of the innocent items Ryan had asked you to Trade for had gone towards tearing apart families you had loved in another world?

When you finally stopped crying, feeling empty and full of jagged parts at the same time (Almost like a balloon full of glass pieces, and just as close to disappearing forever), you found Gaster sitting on the floor next to you.

 **What will you do now?** Gaster signed.

That was a good question with a lot of answers.

**I’m going back for Sans.**

~

The biggest problem with allowing a person not involved with a terrorist group have access to the facility the terrorist group operated out of, was that sometimes the uninvolved person abused their access.

You were wearing a simple necklace, a stone on a chain, but it gave you something to focus on as you walked through the halls, sending all of the Anti-Magic Matter in the building back to the Void, sending doors and people to the Void, and releasing weak, terrified monsters and humans who had been held captive for who knows how long into the streets, free to return home.

Until you came to a stop in front of the room holding Sans, where Jon was standing.

“I kind of thought it would come to this,” He admitted sadly.

**Will you try to stop me?**

“Do you think I can?” Jon laughed quietly, “I, uh, I was pretty sure this was the eventual turn out from the moment Ryan told me his plan.”

 **If you swear you will never hurt another monster, and you leave now, I’ll let you go.** You offered.

“You know I can’t promise that, they’re abominations and they deserve everything that happens to them. You could turn around, you know Ryan would never be angry at you,” Jon said hopefully, but his face was still resigned.

You closed your eyes and your hands curled into fists.

“Goodbye Jon, I’m sorry.”

He laughed quietly, and instead of opening a window to the Void underneath him, you opened it next to him in a silent invitation.

“I’ll see you on the other side _____, I hope they’re worth it.” Jon said before he took a deep breath and walked into the Void.

“They are.” You whispered to the empty doorway when you had closed the window.

With a heavy heart you opened the door to the room containing Sans’s cell.

He looked up when you entered and frowned curiously, “no clipboard tonight? how will you know what questions your brother wants you to ask me?”

You sent the bars separating you to the Void, and then the Anti-Magic matter in the walls and floor back as well. It left the floor uneven, and Sans slipped into one of the gaps as he gaped at you in shock.

You waited for him to disappear, but he did not. He just kept staring at you.

 **You can teleport, I remember, you don’t have to hide it. Go, before Ryan finds out what I’m doing and shows up.** You counseled.

“you’re signing.”

 **I’m signing, I’m not on my medication, and I’ve just freed every monster in this building, and sent every single member of Purity for Above to the Void.** You agreed numbly, you had counted more than just Jon as a friend among the people you’d killed, but they had all been murderers.

You had heard it in the Whispers from the Void.

“the-the void?” Sans asked quietly, eyes wide.

You rubbed your thumb over the stone on your neck for a moment, **You didn’t know about that either, did you?**

“i’m not sure what you’re talking about…”

You shook your head, **Doesn’t matter. You need to go now**.

“come with me,” Sans stood on shaky legs, “you’ve been lied to long enough, if you come with me i promise i’ll tell you the truth. you can have your life back, your real life.”

Sans the Skeleton, HP-0.8 ATK-0 DEF-0

“I’ll take you home, it’s clear you’re not in the shape to teleport,” You told him, your throat tight, “But, uhm, I think I… I might need to disappear for awhile and figure out the truth for myself.”

Sans gave you a sad smile, “okay, i… i can accept that, but i’ll wait for you whenever you come back.”

You hesitated for a moment, then went over and wrapped an arm around him, “Let’s g-get you back home to-” Papyrus, Toriel, Undyne, Alphys, Frisk, Chara, and Flowey, waiting for you with Anime on Friday nights. Early Saturday morning dodging practices, Baking with Toriel. Puns with Sans. A hundred memories that had been locked away, that you had refused to think of because if you did you would doubt Ryan, swamped you “-to everyone.”

Sans slowly reached out with a shaky hand and wiped a tear off of your cheek, “flowey, frisk, and chara remember everything,” He murmured, “and the others… they kind of remember. sometimes undyne goes to the library and spends forever just looking for something she can’t find. tori keeps setting a place for you at the table, and she remembered your cookie recipe. it’s little things, but they do remember a tiny bit.”

“Ryan didn’t Reset?” You couldn’t bring yourself to acknowledge that, to think of a home where people were waiting for you and didn’t lie to you, as you helped Sans out the door, keeping your eyes peeled for anyone you might have missed.

“no, resets are frisk’s magic.”

“Good,” It felt right to be next to Sans, to be holding Sans, “I’m... I’m glad. It’s good that he can’t do this again, c-can’t try again.”

“I will, though.” Your grip on Sans tightened infinitesimally, “The Ambassador, huh? Yeah, I’ll make sure we Reset again and I’ll do better next time little sib.”

You turned to see Ryan pointing a gun at you.

No

At Sans.

There were a hundred and one things you could have said, you could have asked him about lying, you could have repeated the discordant voice in your head that yelled you would always chose the monsters over them.

“You got the information we were looking for sib,” Ryan said softly. You resented the way he worded it, knowing that even now he was trying to turn Sans against you and convince the skeleton it was all a ruse, “We can start over, get even better.”

You looked him over consideringly and turned so you were standing between him and Sans with your back to Ryan, and hugged Sans tightly, “Don’t wait, live.” You whispered in his ear. A quick jerk shattered the chain and you dropped the stone into Sans’s hand. You hesitated for just a moment, remembering a question Sans had asked you-

_is that what you were trying to tell me in the end?_

-then held your wrists up like they were tied together and signed **I love you.**

Sans frowned, then his eyes widened in understanding.

You turned away from Sans and walked to Ryan, keeping yourself between the gun and Sans at all times.

"I should have known better than to send you in to talk to him, I won't make that mistake again, don't worry." Ryan promised as you stopped in front of him, "You won't be faced with his corruption again." He lowered the gun and opened his arms in a silent invitation.

You stepped into his arms without hesitation and looked up to see him smiling smugly at Sans. You felt him start to move the arm that held the gun, moving to aim at Sans again. You held on to your beloved big brother, who had lied to you and made you-

_You’ve really come into yourself and become who you were meant to be._

-into someone you were not meant to be, and felt your eyes tear up for the millionth time tonight. You hugged him as tightly as you could and you opened a window to the Void below both of you.

The last thing your heard was Sans’s cry of denial.

~

“And in the world today, Purity for Above have been wiped out to the last man. Surviving hostages, both human and monster, of the terrorist group report that the organization was being run by Barbara, Edwin, and Ryan _____, but that the youngest child, _____ _____, single handedly took out the entire organization, released all of their files, and freed the hostages. Sans the skeleton, who works in the monster Embassy and was reported taken almost a month ago, released a statement this morning stating that _____, formerly a librarian local to the Ebott City area, was systematically brainwashed but managed to break through it enough to see that what their family was doing was wrong, and sought to do the right thing. We at Ebott News thank _____ for their sacrifice, and for the lives of those who have been returned to their families.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Edit*  
> This does have a part 2, I'll post it as soon as it's been written and edited


	3. I do what I have to do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second part of the AU that never happened, and the last part. Next time I update Sunspots, it'll be a oneshot from the main timeline again =D

It was beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and faintly Sans could hear Papyrus, Frisk, and Flowey playing in the backyard.

Sans was faced, as he was most days he could not bury himself in work at the Embassy, with following your final wishes or staying in bed all day and pretending the world didn’t exist. More often than not it was the latter option that won out over the former, but he did try to get up and go through the motions of living sometimes.

Particularly when he was worrying Papyrus. He hated worrying Papyrus, and you had always hated worrying Papyrus as well.

With a sigh that seemed to settle twenty pounds on his shoulders, Sans sat up and swung his feet out of bed. He spared just a moment to untangle the delicate chain he’d spent ages repairing, and placing the stone against his sternum where it would, hopefully, avoid getting tangled in his ribs until he was dressed and could protect himself with his shirt, then forced himself to go shower and dress.

When he walked out of his room a second time, he was confronted by Papyrus, Frisk, and Flowey looking solemn.

“uh, hey guys…” He eyed the three of them curiously, “what’s up?”

“SANS, IT HAS COME TO OUR ATTENTION THAT YOU… HAVE NOT BEEN OUT MUCH IN THE RECENT MONTHS.” Papyrus said gently.

“What Papyrus means is that ever since _____ died you haven’t left the house except to go to work.” Flowey said flatly. Frisk scowled down at Flowey, who refused to look repentant.

Sans looked from the flower, to his brother, to the two souls stuck in one body, both of which were looking at him through Frisk’s eyes.

“heh,” Sans laughed hollowly, “yeah, i guess i haven’t.”

“BROTHER, WHILE I DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN THAT PLACE, AND I DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN YOU AND _____, I DO KNOW THAT… That I Do Not Like Seeing You Like This.” Papyrus’s voice gentled.

Sans’s eyes dropped, “paps i… i’m sorry…”

“It Is Okay Brother. FRISK, FLOWEY, AND I HAVE DECIDED IT IS IN EVERYONE’S BEST INTEREST THAT WE GO TO THE PARK TODAY. IT WILL DO YOU SOME GOOD TO SPEND TIME IN THE SUN.” Papyrus declared.

Sans considered arguing, he’d been making pretty good progress on forming a perfect indentation on the couch to match the indentation on his bed, but in the end he knew an argument with his brother, Frisk, and Flowey would be more effort than he was prepared to give today.

“okay bro, that sounds like a good idea to me.” Sans said with an easy smile.

“EXCELLENT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, KNEW THAT YOU WOULD AGREE BECAUSE IT IS RARE THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS A BAD IDEA!” Papyrus beamed proudly.

Sans smiled for his brother, and allowed himself to be lead out of the house by the three determined members of his family.

He almost turned back, though, when he realized where they were heading.

“oh, uh, we’re going to go to the park on redwood?” Sans asked slowly.

“YES! IT IS THE BEST PARK IN THE CITY, NOT TO MENTION THE CLOSEST NYEHEHEHE!” Papyrus laughed, but then caught the look on Sans’s face, “ERR, BUT WE CAN GO TO ANOTHER IF YOU WOULD PREFER?”

“no, no, it’s cool,” Sans plastered a grin on his face, “just, ah, checking.”

Frisk gave Sans a sympathetic look. To get to the park on Redwood, they’d have to go past the library.

Sans kept his eyes on his slippers, unaware of the concerned looks Papyrus kept shooting him, or the pleading looks he sent Frisk.

Frisk simply shook their head, **He has to tell us, if he’s going to talk.** They signed, **If we pressure him, he’ll joke it off.**

 **I KNOW,** Papyrus signed back, his wild movements making the signs feel loud, **I JUST WISH IT WOULD HAPPEN FASTER.**

Sans remained oblivious to all of this, particularly because he could feel the presence of the library, a presence he associated so strongly with you, coming up. At the last minute he couldn't stop himself, he looked up and froze.

Through the window he could see a decently sized picture of you signing something to a group of children.

Almost like he was attached by a line, Sans diverted from the path Frisk, Flowey, and Papyrus were on and, for the first time in this timeline, stepped into the library he’d first met you in.

Sans absently hummed a response when the librarian behind the desk called a greeting to him, but remained intent on on his destination.

You were sitting in a chair, a smile lighting your face up, in the middle of signing what looked like ‘bridge’. Your eyes were so full of light and life that it took Sans’s breath away for a moment. His hand wandered up to wrap around the stone, clinging to the only physical reminder he had left of you.

“Did you know them?” A soft voice asked.

Sans jerked slightly, taken out of the moment in time by the unexpected intrusion, “i, uh, yeah. you could say that.” He turned and was slightly surprised to see your boss (Your old boss, rather) David, looking at the picture of you with a sad smile.

“They used to work here, timid little thing, but the biggest sweetheart,” David said fondly, “They loved when they got to help out with story time, and the kids loved them… How did you know them?”

Sans looked back to the picture and noticed that at the bottom of the frame was a small plaque with a quote on it.

_‘Remember that the quietest voices can have the most important things to say.’_

“they saved me,” Sans said, fully aware of how broken he sounded.

David looked at him consideringly, “Then they saw something worth saving, buddy.” He clapped Sans on the back, “Lots of monsters seem to get pretty touched by this picture. There’s this lady, comes in with her girlfriend every now and then, first time she saw it she cried and threatened to suplex anybody who asked her why.” David chuckled, “I’m just glad people still remember them.” He pat Sans’s shoulder once more and walked away.

“Sans?” Sans looked behind him to see Papyrus staring at the picture, his expression slightly lost, “Sans, Who Is That? They… It Makes Me Sad To See Them…”

“that’s _____, paps,” Sans murmured.

Papyrus stepped closer, his expression gentle, “Human,” He addressed the picture, “I Didn’t Know You, But… It Saddens Me That You Are Gone. You Did The Great Papyrus An Even Greater Favor. I… I Would Be Very Lost Without My Brother, Thank You. Even Though We Never Met, I Consider You A Dear Friend.”

“they would have liked that, paps, they would have liked that a lot.” Sans’s had to blink several times to clear the magic that was trying to form into tears, and cleared his throat, “we should get to the park, yeah? before it gets too late to do anything.”

He couldn’t stop himself from looking up at your glowing face one more time, and out of the corner of his eye he watched Frisk step up to the picture, an expression of mourning that looked like it belonged on a much older face present.

 **“I miss you,”** Chara whispered and Frisk signed.

“Stupid,” Flowey grumbled, looking away, but his petals were drooping and one of his leaves curled at the end and circled his stem right under his head.

**Sorry**

“let’s go guys,” Sans said quietly, and walked out the door without another glance back. He knew if he looked at the picture again, it would be too easy to get lost in that happy moment of time with you.

The mood remained solemn until they got to the park and Sans used his magic to pick Frisk up, place them in a swing, and give them a gentle push.

Sans watched with a faint grin as Frisk, Flowey, and Papyrus began using the playground equipment for more and more ridiculous tasks, before settling down in the sandbox to draft a sketch of an obstacle course. He let his head loll back slightly and closed his eyes to enjoy the sun on his face.

After about ten minutes of his basking, Sans started to doze and as he dozed his mind wandered to you.

“i miss you,” Sans murmured to his dozing vision of you, “i’m trying to live, but it was so much easier to live for you, than it is to live without you.”

“Are you h-happy?” You asked softly.

“no. i’m… well, i’m doing my best, but i don’t know if i can be happy without you.” Sans admitted with a heavy sigh, “if i can, it won’t be for a long time.”

“Well, that’s no good, is it?” You smiled at him, “Would you be happy if I was with you?”

Sans wanted to say yes without hesitation, but found he couldn’t, “i’d be happier, but i’m depressed, sunshine, even you can’t fix everything.”

You seemed to consider this before leaning over and pressing a kiss to his cheekbone, “W-wake up Sans.”

Sans opened his eyes, not just because you’d told him to, but because he’d felt that kiss.

“Did you know you talk in your sleep? It’s c-cute.” You told him with a soft smile. You were kneeling in front of the bench in the park, looking for all the world like you had never disappeared.

Sans froze, his bones locking up in fear that if he moved, if he breathed, you would vanish like a breath in the wind.

“I’m h-here, Sans,” You murmured, “I’m real.”

“how?” Slowly, barely moving at all, Sans reached out and brushed his hand against your face. You leaned into his touch with a gentle sigh.

Reassured that you were indeed real, Sans lurched forward and wrapped you in his arms, holding you as tight as he could.

“how?” He asked again, his voice shaking.

“It’s a long story, Sans, but I came back as soon as I could.” Your arms came around him and you clung to him just as tight, “I s-spent just enough time in the V-void to remember _everything_. I’m s-so sorry Sans. I missed you s-s-so m-much, I’m sorry.”

“you’re here,” Sans’s soul ached, “as long as you’re here, i can forgive you for anything.”

A wordless shriek split the air and a second later you and Sans were bowled over by a child wielding a flower pot.

 **You’re back!**  Frisk signed, bright eyed, sitting on top of you and Sans and balancing Flowey between you.

**You beamed up at Frisk and snuggled into Sans on the ground, **I’m back,** You agreed, **And I’m not leaving again.** **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost wrote this part two just as a slow healing for Sans where he managed to move on, but never forget reader.  
> But then I got to thinking.  
> Life sucks. There are rarely second chances, you rarely get to say goodbye, and it hurts.  
> So maybe it's a trademark of the particular hurt I've had in life that characters usually get some sort of goodbye, and then come back.  
> Because Death is permanent in the real world, and depending on your belief, or lack thereof, in the afterlife you may never see someone you love again.  
> So when I write, I tend to bring people back. Because it's not the real world, and fiction, at least, deserves a happy ending.


End file.
